1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a portable type printer, which performs printing on continuous paper (e.g., roll paper), has a paper cutter mounted thereon. The paper cutter is used to cut the continuous paper discharged from the portable type printer. The portable type printer includes a case body for installing the continuous paper therein. The portable type printer also includes an opening/closing cover that opens and closes for loading or replacing the continuous paper. The paper cutter is mounted on either the case body or the opening/closing cover in the vicinity of a sheet discharge port of the portable type printer.
The paper cutter, which is located in the vicinity of the paper discharge port, is exposed when the opening/closing cover is in an open state. This may result in a user being cut by the paper cutter at the time of, for example, loading the continuous paper.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-164695 discloses a receipt printer having a shaft that cooperatively moves with an upper cover, in which a cutting blade is prevented from advancing forward by a tip part of the shaft that protrudes in front of the cutting blade when the upper cover is opened.
However, with the receipt printer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-164695, contact or the like may be caused upon the upper lever in a state where the upper cover is open during an operation of, for example, paper replacement. The contact may cause a lock lever to detach from a pin and result in exposure of the cutting blade. By continuing operation in the state where the cutting blade is exposed, the user could be injured by inadvertently touching the cutting blade.